Chapter 1245 (2/2)

“Yes,” Naffur answered. “The string of murders started almost a year ago now… coming out of Zone 19. The victims were found with their blood completely drained from their bodies. But with the growth of the Wildlands and these bubble cities, it’s been almost impossible to keep track of all the missing people. He’s likely stayed active, but become much harder to track.”

Humming, Randidly closed his eyes. There was a shift in the air that Tatiana felt, like the sensation of an impending electric shock. Strangely, the colors around Randidly seemed to sharpen, as though someone had turned up the contrast on a picture. His hair became a sea of darkness, his skin pale, his lips a light pink. Every hair on his cheek was the deepest, inky black Tatiana had ever seen.

For a few seconds, he stood like that, until a frown crossed Randidly’s face. “...I sense it. Yea. That image… is strong.”

Tatiana nodded, mentally filing away the fact that Randidly might be able to track others from afar using their image. “Which is why we considered accepting the mission to protect the attendees. And besides the safety concerns, the World Council is requesting all Orders to participate. As the Order Ducis is the leader of the Orders… well, per your orders we’ve stayed out of the squabbles between the various Orders. However, it’s worth noting that the Order Valorem has done quite a bit of work to clean up Raid Bosses now that we are in the Wildlands. They are gaining quite a bit of popularity and will definitely use this security detail as a PR stunt.”

“Heh,” Randidly chuckled and shook his head. “Might be fun to see, but they won’t need us. Not if Alana and Hank are already both tracking this Straud.”

Of course, Randidly didn’t acknowledge the hint about the political ramifications if the Order Ducis didn’t attend the inaugural football game. He simply hummed lightly and gestured for her to continue. Last night, Tatiana had been worried about exactly this reaction. It displayed an obvious callousness to the opinions of the rest of the world. Yet now that she saw it… it was oddly a relief.

Those things aren’t important. That’s why I followed him out there. Because I trust that he can discern between those things that actually help our world and everything else that just gets in the way… Tatiana clenched her fist and continued.

“A few days ago we received a notification about the Danger Zones. A fourth Zone was cleared, and for the third time spreading the world-wide experience boost was selected. Following that, we received a System notification that there would be a special benefit for Earth if we cleared five Danger Zones and selected to share the experience.

“In light of the recent movements from the Ogre Gorge and World Crater, Mrs. Hamilton urged patience at the most recent World Council. But even she admitted that there is an incredible value to the world-wide experience boost. And it appears that Franksburg’s Lucifer is determined to seize the benefit for the Earth. Currently, Franksburg’s elites are heading to the Crystal Shaft Danger Zone in an attempt to clear it.”

“A benefit from the System huh… I can guess why Mrs. Hamilton would preach patience,” Randidly smiled for a second and as his focus clearly shifted, and that violence hiding on his person finally revealed itself in the curl of his mouth. Across the room from Tatiana, Antonio stood without moving an inch.

Then Randidly’s expression changed and the heaviness passed. “Well, it should be fine. Honestly, a Danger Zone might be a good test of the new Order Ducis recruits… also, you said activity at the other Danger Zones? Are the worlds on the other side acting up?”

“Yes. A letter came from Nordawn, the capital of the Ogre world.” Tatiana replied. She watched Antonio carefully arranging the papers in his hands, wondering what the man was thinking. “I believe an army is marching toward the portal as we speak. As for the World Crater… it appears that Neveah and Sydney went into the toad world together. Neveah sent us a message but it was light on the details. However, she seemed to imply that the Toad World had been taken care of for the immediate future.”

Again, Randidly hummed. His finger tapped against the line of his jaw. A hesitant silence fell over the room. Tatiana kept most of her attention on Antonio, trying to read the man’s reaction to Randidly. The rest of the people just watched the man who stood at the center of Kharon, waiting for his direction. Likely for some of the assistants that had begged for this chance, this was the first time they had seen the man in person. They had heard the stories and now they were slowly realizing what it meant to be the most powerful man on Earth.

Before Randidly spoke again or Tatiana figured out the right way to draw the man into a conversation, Heiffal stepped forward. “Commander, I also have something to report.”

Blinking, Randidly said, “Oh? Is there a problem with the training? I know keeping your specific images back is difficult, but it is necessary-”

“No sir, it’s not that.” Heiffal shook his head. “I wished to inform you that I have learned to bowl, as is the tradition on Earth. I’m enjoying this diversion immensely.”

There was a second of silence. Heiffal brought his fist to his chest and then stepped back to stand against the wall. The corner of Randidly’s mouth quirked up and then a playful grin stretched across his face. His emerald eyes danced with amusement. Like a released breath, the tension in the room vanished. “Well then… anything else anyone would like to share?”

You should smile like that more often, Randidly, Tatiana thought fondly. You really do have charm enough to run an entire city by force of personality.

Gradually, the topics started coming faster and faster from the surrounding individuals; finally, Tatiana could release a breath of relief that everything didn’t flow through her. Naffur talked in more detail about the state of training for the Order Ducis and Vye asked about recruiting some helpers to map the entirety of the wildlands as her independent mission. The forgers brought up some successes and failures that they’ve experienced with regard to impressing an image upon a metal.

Tatiana spoke up again to talk a bit about some of the behaviors of the moss spirits. Even Antonio finally came out of his shell, talking about the individuals worth recruiting among the shifted population and how to approach them. As a follow-up, Tatiana talked about the most powerful of the Chosen still being at large, leading almost ten thousand followers as he fled from the persistent gait of Helen.

And at the end, Randidly hummed to himself.

Breaking a much more peaceably silence, Tatiana cleared her throat. “So… now that you’ve returned, what’s next?”

The gazes of the people of the room changed as they once more turned to Randidly and his focus brought the weight back to the surrounding air. The potency of his determination practically buzzed. Seeing him sitting there, the head of the colossal operation that was Kharon the moving city, and displaying both his power, his focus, and his humor likely did a lot to alleviate the fears of individuals who hadn’t met him before. Suddenly, they could catch a glimpse of the human wielding all the power.

For people like Tatiana and Naffur, who knew Randidly and his penchant for an unusual operating style, it was equally relieving to see that Randidly was listening to all the information without wandering off.

Perhaps because this was the first official governmental meeting… well, basically since the beginning of Kharon, Tatiana could immediately feel the shift. Likely without them even knowing it, Randidly’s powerful image magnetically pulled people over to his viewpoint. With the exception of the still wavering Antonio, Tatiana saw a commitment to Kharon in the eyes of everyone else in the office.

Before he answered Tatiana’s question, Randidly shifted his left arm and the pure lines of white energy illuminated the motion. After rubbing his chin, he asked, “How long would it take to return to the Zones?”

“The whole city, or just a group?” Tatiana asked while pulling out some maps.

“The whole city,” Randidly replied.

“Then… probably about a week?” Tatiana glanced toward Vye, who nodded her agreement. “Assuming there isn’t some pressing need to get there.”

Nodding, Randidly scanned the entire room, pausing briefly on each person that had given a report. It made Tatiana shiver lightly. The whole of Kharon shivered with her. “Then set a course for the Ogre Gorge. And in the meantime… let’s get to work. There are some changes I want to make to Kharon before people finally get their eyes on this place. I think it’s time we expand a bit.”